1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monolithic air conditioner, and more particularly, to a monolithic air conditioner that is designed to prevent air, which is exhausted from the air conditioner to an outdoor side, from being reintroduced into the air conditioner together with outdoor air that is being introduced into the air conditioner by improving the structure of an air exit and an air intake.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air conditioner is operated as a refrigerant goes through a cooling cycle having a series of processes such as a compression process, a condensing process, an expanding process, and a vaporizing process. That is, after the refrigerant is compressed to a high temperature and pressure state, heat is discharged to an outer side by a condenser. Then, the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant are lowered as it goes through an expansion valve. Then, the refrigerant goes through the vaporizer to absorb heat and returns to the condenser.
Here, the compression, condensing and expansion processes are performed in an indoor unit of the air conditioner. The vaporizing process is performed by a blower fan and a heat exchanger.
Meanwhile, the air conditioner is generally classified into a monolithic air conditioner having indoor and outdoor units that are integrated and a sprit air conditioner having indoor and outdoor units that are spirited from each other. Particularly, the monolithic air conditioner is generated buried into an indoor wall such that a vaporizer is disposed facing an indoor side and a condenser is disposed facing an outdoor side.
FIG. 1 shows a typical monolithic air conditioner.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical monolithic air conditioner 10 includes a cabinet 11 defining an outer appearance of the air conditioner, a front panel 12 mounted on an front portion of the cabinet 11 to allow the air to be introduced or exhausted, and an outdoor heat exchanger 13 mounted on a rear portion of the cabinet 11 to allow a refrigerant to be heat-exchanged with the outdoor air.
The monolithic air conditioner 10 further includes an indoor heat exchanger (not shown) for allowing the refrigerant to be heat-exchanged with the indoor air, an indoor fan (not shown) disposed between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers to introduce the indoor air and exhaust the same to the indoor side, and an outdoor fan (not shown) for introducing and exhausting the outdoor air. The monolithic air conditioner 10 further includes a driving motor (not shown) for driving the indoor and outdoor fans, and a compressor (not shown) for compressing the refrigerant, and a shroud for guiding the flow of the outdoor air.
The air conditioner 10 is installed in a hole penetrating an indoor wall to allow the indoor and outdoor airs to be introduced and exhausted.
That is, the air conditioner 10 is installed such that the front portion is disposed facing the indoor side and the rear portion is disposed facing the outdoor side. The indoor air is introduced into the air conditioner 10 through the front portion, heat-exchanged with the refrigerant by the indoor heat exchanger, and exhausted to the indoor side through the front portion.
The outdoor air is introduced into the air conditioner 10 through the rear portion, heat-exchanged with the refrigerant by the outdoor heat exchanger, and exhausted to the outdoor side through the front portion.
Actually, the air conditioner 10 is installed in a housing (not shown) inserted in the hole.
The outdoor heat exchanger 13 mounted on the rear portion of the air conditioner 10 is exposed to the outdoor side. A rear end of the heat exchanger 13 is spaced away from a sidewall of the cabinet 11. A gap between the cabinet 11 and the outdoor heat exchanger 13 defines an outdoor air intake. Therefore, the outdoor air is introduced into the air conditioner through the outdoor air intake. The introduced air is exhausted to the outdoor side after passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 13.
Since there is no special member for dividing the outdoor air intake and the outdoor heat exchanger 13, the outdoor air that is exhausted after passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 13 may be reintroduced. That is, the air that is increased in a temperature while passing through the outdoor heat exchanger 13 is reintroduced into the air conditioner 10, thereby deteriorating the heat exchange of the air with the refrigerant flowing along the heat exchanger 13. As a result, the heat exchange efficiency of the air conditioner is deteriorated, thereby deteriorating the overall air-cooling efficiency.